A group of Smithers agencies is one step closer to making their StoryWalk a permanent installation in Heritage Park.
At its Aug. 24 regular meeting Smithers Council granted permission to
The Smithers Community Services Association (SCSA), Childcare Resource & Referral (CCRR), and the Northwest Child Development Centre (NWCDC) partners approached Smithers council to make the installation permanent.
The council decision allows the group to install permanent posts and display boards, but council declined to make a financial contribution at this time.
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To ensure wider community participation, it is the group’s intention to invite other organizations and agencies to participate in selecting and preparing stories to be displayed along Lois Lane in Heritage Park.
“Storywalk is a free, fun, family activity that places the deconstructed pages from a children’s story along a popular walking route in the community,” a letter to the Town states.
“Storywalk combines the pleasures and early literacy benefits of reading wonderful children’s books aloud with all the joys and health benefits of walking and playing together outdoors. It is accessible to everyone and is an activity that parents can do with their kids on their own schedule without having to register, book a time or pay a fee.”
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The group intends for Storywalk to be a year-round attraction, with permanent, sturdy, weather-proof structures and with stories that will change monthly.
In the two months Storywalk has been up in Smithers, the group has displayed three books, one of them being an Indigenous story by a Gitxsan author to celebrate National Indigenous Peoples Day.
StoryWalk has already seen an estimated 1,000 children and adults participate.
deb.meissner@interior-news.com
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